The Marian Era Part 3: underneath a Virgin’s skirt

 

A close connection

It is a fact that Saunière was a monarchist, and interested in apparitions of the Virgin Mary. But is that all, or is there more? Guy Patton has underlined Saunière’s monarchist tendencies, and writes: “When [Eugène] Vintras died in 1875 the Abbé Boullan, a defrocked priest, also a supporter of the Naundorff claim, became his successor at Lyon.” Vintras and Boullan are key figures in the French esoteric scene of the late 19th century – Saunière’s timeframe.

Boullan

Though it is known that Saunière visited Lyon, as in Paris with Emma Calvé, there is little likelihood that a priest would run into a famous opera singer or the leading lights of esoteric France by accident. But when one looks into Boullan’s past, it is clear that our good priest may have had a straightforward link with Boullan: Boullan had been a priest.
Patton continues: “Previously, at La Salette he [Boullan] met the nun Adèle Chevalier, a friend of the visionary Melanie Calvat. Boullan formed an intimate relationship with Adèle, drawing accusations of strange sexual activities. Melanie is said to have revealed the secret of La Salette to Adèle, with whom she had set up the Order of the Mother of God. She and Boullan set up the ‘Society for the Reparation of Souls’ with a view to ‘curing devilish illnesses’. Condemned by the Catholic Church he was imprisoned for three years, but on his release returned to the mission of curing spells.”

The key to the mystery?

To recap: at La Sallette, the Virgin gave key secrets to Maximim and Melanie. Neither of them would reveal these messages. Maximim moved to Paris, where he hung around St Sulpice, and where he was also wined and dined by certain monarchist circles – and others – in the hope he would reveal the secret. He was tempted only once, but at the time, literally seems to have lost the ability to speak – which he understood as a sign of “divine intervention”.
Melanie may have had a family connection to Emma Calvé, and this could be seen as an inroad into Saunière. But more importantly, Calvé was a well-known figure in Parisian esoteric circles, and was the lover of Jules Bois. Bois and Boullan were very close friends, as came in evidence when Huysmans and Jules Bois supported Boullan in a celebrated occultist feud with the Marquis Stanislas de Guaita.
It is Boullan who linked up with Adèle Chevalier, who is definitely to have known Melanie Calvat. The two women are believed to have shared the secret, and this secret may thus have found its way to Boullan… and from there into the Parisian esoteric circle of the late 19th century.
That Parisian esotericists may have had in their possession a secret “directly from heaven”, which even the Vatican may not have known of – or which only they and the Vatican knew of – might have placed them in an important position… or guarantee certain advantages.

Marrying the sacred feminine

A lot of ink has been written in recent years over the role of Mary Magdalene and her relationship with Jesus Christ. Specifically, this drive has come from “The Da Vinci Code”, and before, largely female authors and/or feminists who used Mary Magdalene to reveal how the “all-male Catholic Church” had censored her true role and had abused women throughout two millennia of Christianity.
Though several of these allegations are true, what these and other – often male – authors did afterwards, is where it all went wrong: making the connection between Mary Magdalene and esoteric France. French esoteric circles did not hold some major secret about Mary Magdalene, or her offspring; they “practiced as they preached” – and that was the problem.

Let us explain: the relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus Christ in the Bible is depicted as that between a penitent whore and a priest – a religious teacher. Now compare this with what Boullan believed – and we quote from Guy Patton for the final time: “Boullan is best known for his ‘Law of Sacred Regeneration’, which is more or less identical to the theory of Reintegration found at the heart of Martinism.
Boullan’s biographer, Joanny Bricaud, wrote: ‘Since the Fall from grace resulted from an illicit act of love, the Redemption of Humanity can only be achieved through acts of love accomplished in a religious manner.’ It was believed that ‘guilty love must be combated through pure love, through a sexual approach, but in a heavenly manner, to the spirits in order to raise oneself: this is the union of wisdom.’”
This may read a bit like esoteric mumbo-jumbo, but these words could easily be explained by their actions, should the words not suffice: an entire group of men – including priests and ex-priests – decided to either take nuns and/or prostitutes as their companions. Together, they performed various activities, which included sex, magic and mixtures of the two. These men “became” Jesus Christ, whom they felt had done the same with Mary Magdalene. Their type of relationship was not that of a man with a woman, a defrocked priest with a nun, or an adulterous priest with a mistress, but a “spiritual marriage”, a “union of wisdom” – often set within a Kabbalistic framework, in which the woman was symbolised to portray the role of the Schekinah, the “female principle” the Kabbalah tried to reunite with God.

Girona, 1975 and the 1890s

We seem to have strayed very far from Rennes-le-Château, and specifically the apparitions of the Virgin Mary. So let us quickly restate that Boullan and Adèle were very close to the secret of La Salette and practiced – if not promoted – the above type of “spiritual marriage”.

The shrine in Girona, on the site where the Virgin appeared

Patrice Chaplin reports on the fact that Girona had, in 1975, an apparition, witnessed by one Maria Mendez. Chaplin then goes into detail how Maria Mendez witnessed an apparition of a Lady, but when she began to speak of her vision, she was placed in a psychiatric institution, whereby other members of the Church quickly adapted her story, transforming the apparition into one of Jesus. As Mendez does not seem to have been “nunnery material” – times had after all changed – the old ways available to Lucia (Fatima) or Melanie (La Salette), were not an option and the 20th century equivalent, incarceration in a mental institution, was the new methodology through which to achieve silence.
Chaplin goes further, though. Rather than a mere anomalous phenomenon, she argues that the apparition was the result of magical experiments that happened nearby, and which were done by a society, gathered around the likes of Maria Tourdes and the House of the Cannons. Maria Tourdes, of course, was the woman who was placed in Girona at a very young age, by Saunière, and she seems to be the key focus of the Girona society. Question: was Maria Tourdes a “virgin”, required in certain magical experiments, in which “the Virgin Mary” could be manifested? We leave it as a question, but do draw the parallel to similar magical experiments that were performed by Parisian esoteric circles, at the same time, and largely involving the same set-up.

In summary

Saunière’s interest in the apparitions of the Virgin Mary appears to be vast – though evidence is not always in place behind the obvious stained glass windows and statues. The question should be asked whether any such evidence is available anyway. But let us look at the framework.
Saunière has a clear interest in the apparitions of the Virgin Mary, specifically Rue du Bac, La Salette and Lourdes. In Paris and Lyon, there is a circle of masons and ex-priests, engaged in strange rites, which have a connection to the apparition of the Virgin as well. We can only wonder whether a prior incarnation of this group, in 1830, may actually have been responsible for the infamous apparition at the rue du Bac. When Chaplin makes a scant reference to a Parisian book dealer that seems to have been somehow relevant to her story, we may have found another piece of the puzzle.
According to Chaplin, the Girona group was able to perform magical rites that resulted, or had as side-effect, an apparition – interpreted to be as the Virgin. Such an event was observed in 1975, but may have occurred earlier. As Saunière was once part of this group, and Spanish members of this Group had connections to Paris (where Maria Tourdes had a home too), two strands seem to have come together.

Saunière’s friend

But there are further coincidences, with direct links to Saunière. During his trial with the Carcassonne bishop, Saunière retains the help of a lawyer, Huguet. Huguet was deeply and directly involved with the apparition of the Virgin Mary in Pellevoisin, a small village in the Indre. He publishes on the subject and becomes “Postulator” of the cause in Rome, before the Vatican. A postulator is the cannon who is placed in charge of the file for canonisation, in this case, that of the girl who saw the Virgin: Estelle Faguette. A lawyer has several clients, but it is a rather intriguing coincidence – if not design – that of all men whom could defend him, he retained a person who was known to have defended an apparition with the Vatican. In fact, we can ask the question whether Saunière’s circle of friends knew and could approach Huguet because of his vociferous defence of this Marial apparition? Let us note that Saunière retained Huguet through his best friend, Grassaud.

That is not all. They key witness of the Virgin of Pellevoisin is Estelle Faguette, who at the age of 14, became “a child of Mary” at the chapel of the Sisters of Saint Vincent de Paul in Paris – an organisation which should be known to us because of Catherine Labouré’s alliance with this order.
At the age of twenty, Estelle had a very bad fall and could no longer continue her religious mission; she returned to live with her parents. It marked the slow decline of her health, which by 1875, had become fragile – by November, the doctor gave her no chance of survival; in January 1876, she received the sacraments of the dying; on February 8, she had a violent crisis, followed by a medical diagnosis that she had mere hours to live.
Still, on February 13, Estelle continued to display her life-long devotion to the Virgin Mary and asked the countess of La Rochefoucauld, the family that was looking after her in her last few months, to place two candles, one in Notre Dame des Victoires, the other on the altar of Notre Dame de Lourdes, in the church of Gesu. And then the miracle happened: the Virgin appeared during the night from February 14 to 15, 1876 – the first in a series of fifteen apparitions, each of which occured at midnight. It was during the fifth apparition, in the night of February 18 to 19, that she was healed. Even her right arm, which had been paralysed, regained use by the following morning. The various doctors that had treated her, and were now called to assess the situation, confirmed this was a miracle.
Like all other women before and after her, Estelle was told she had a mission; in late January 1900, she was even invited by Pope Leo XIII to come to Rome.

Revisiting a defrocked priest

Boullan was ordained priest on September 23, 1848; soon afterwards, he went to Italy, where he became a missionary of the “Holy Blood”. Adèle Chevalier was miraculously healed in 1855, following a pilgrimage to Notre-Dame de la Salette. It is the meeting with this person that would change him radically – love, and/or the “world” that she is able to open up for him? If purely love, Boullan went over the top to explain the reason for their union, for as early as 1859, he founded the “Work of the Reparation”. On December 8, 1860, he makes the child he and Adèle had conceived “disappear”.
Apart from spending time in jail and being defrocked, we should note his theory of the “mystical substitution”, according to which “repairing souls” have incarnated and had received a mission to sin, so that other incarnated souls would not sin. It’s been labelled a “curious concept” – and that is indeed the case. But people who should sin, so that others do not, is of course directly related to the concept of penitence, and certain penitent movements. Penitent movements such as that of the Holy Blood, of which he was a member?

The Apocalypse?

Estelle Faguette

That famous penitent, Vincent Ferrer, so close to the pope and the Perillos family, also preached penitence, so that the Apocalypse could happen. As mentioned, perhaps some felt that the Apocalypse had begun in 1830, coinciding with the “Marian Era”. Pope Leo XIII, who welcomed Faguette, was a strong believer in the Apocalypse.
On October 13, 1884 – coincidentally the anniversary of the Purge of the Knights Templar – Leo XIII had just completed a celebration of Mass in one of the Vatican's private chapels. Standing at the foot of the altar, he suddenly turned ashen and collapsed to the floor, apparently the victim of a stroke or heart attack. However, neither malady was the cause of his collapse. After a few minutes spent in what seemed like a coma, he revived and remarked to those around him, "Oh, what a horrible picture I was permitted to see!"
What Leo XIII apparently saw, as described later by those who talked to him at the time of his vision, was a period of about one hundred years when the power of Satan would reach its zenith. That period was to be the 20th century. Leo was so shaken by the spectre of the destruction of moral and spiritual values both inside and outside the Church, that he composed a prayer which was to be said at the end of each Mass celebrated anywhere in the Catholic Church. This prayer was to the Archangel Michael. The prayer was indeed said continuously until the Mass was restructured in the Second Vatican Council.
The prayer is as follows: "Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our defence against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do you, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and the other evil spirits who prowl about the world for the ruin of souls. Amen." Some have queried whether it is coincidental that “moral decline” began in the late 1960s, when this prayer had been removed from the liturgy.

Satan

Though some observers note that no details of this vision are known, that is not entirely true. Pope Leo XIII stated that the vision he had, was of a conversation between God and Satan. God’s voice was obviously kind and gentle, the other guttural and harsh. They seemed to come from near the tabernacle. As he listened, he heard the following conversation:
Satan: "I can destroy your Church."
God: "You can? Then go ahead and do so."
Satan: "To do so, I need more time and more power."
God: "How much time? How much power?”
Satan: "75 to 100 years, and a greater power over those who will give themselves over to my service."
God: "You have the time, you will have the power. Do with them what you will."

As observers have noted: this happened in 1884. Satan said he needed 75 to 100 years, which gives 1959 to 1984 as the deadline. It was on January 25, 1959, that John XXIII publicly summoned the Second Vatican Council, which did away with the prayer composed as a result of this 1884 vision. Coincidence, conspiracy… divine… or Satanic will?

1984

Apart from George Orwell’s year in which a totalitarian regime had descended upon the Earth, 1984 was for the Church a most important year: it was the year when the Pope officially carried out the desire the Virgin Mary had given in Fatima. Again, we should ask whether there is coincidence or design in this… coincidence.

Pope John Paul II with the statue of Fatima

On May 13, 1982, exactly a year after the assassination attempt that was at the core fo the Third Secret of Fatima, John Paul II was in Fatima, both to thank Mary for saving his life, and also to carry out a public act of consecration of the whole world, including Russia, to her Immaculate Heart. After this was accomplished, it became apparent that many of the world's bishops had not been informed in time. As such, this consecration had not fulfilled the conditions of collegiality asked for by Mary at Fatima, which is that the Pope in union with the bishops of the world should consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart. Lucia, still living in the Carmelite convent at Coimbra, apparently made this known to the Apostolic Nuncio in Portugal.
If anyone still were to doubt what is now accepted as the official version of events by the Catholic Church, in this 1982 consecration, John Paul II specifically described Fatima as a place "chosen" by Mary, thus indicating official confirmation of its status and intimating that we are to understand it as the major "prophecy" of the 20th century, whose urgent message could not be ignored. During his homily, the Pope made the following remarks: "If the Church has accepted the message of Fatima, it is above all because that message contains a truth and a call whose basic content is the truth and call of the Gospel itself: ‘Repent, and believe in the Gospel’ (Mk. 1:15).”
He continued: "These are the first words of the Messiah addressed to humanity. The message of Fatima is, in its basic nucleus, a call to conversion and repentance, as in the Gospel. This call was uttered at the beginning of the 20th century, and it was thus addressed particularly to this present century. The Lady of the message seems to have read with special insight the 'signs of the times', the signs of our time." That was, of course, the Marian Era. Where we would disagree with the Pope, is that the message of repentance was the message of the entire Marian Era – specifically at La Salette, and not just at Fatima.

Consecration

With the 1982 consecration not acted out properly, the Pope decided to renew the consecration in March 1984, with letters being sent to all the world's bishops in good time, including the Orthodox, asking them to join him in this action. On March 25, 1984, the feast of the Annunciation, John Paul II duly renewed the act of consecration in St Peter's Basilica in Rome, before the statue of Mary from the site of the apparitions at Fatima, which was specially brought over for the occasion.
Although the text used did not mention Russia, the Pope did specifically recall the acts of consecration made by Pope Pius XII in 1942 and 1952, the latter being essentially concerned with Russia. It also appears that John Paul II paused during the ceremony, and, according to the bishop of Leiria-Fatima, Alberto Cosme do Amaral, quietly included Russia in the consecration. By coincidence or design, communism would quickly melt away over the next few years.

Boullan, part three

John Paul II, meeting Lucia

The Marian Era thus had a clear agenda – one which is so apparent, that we can only ask why few have spelled it out as simply as we have done here: from 1830 to 1984, there was a clear “mission statement”, in which apparitions to young girls resulted in messages and prophecies that made their way to the Pope, who acted accordingly. All of this happened within an apocalyptic concept, with references to Great Monarchs, Satan, etc.
So what are we take make of the role of these prophets themselves? Lucia had a close relationship with Pope John Paul II – though one largely done via correspondence. Other visionaries met the pope; most of these visionaries were French… and several had connections to Saunière, in an indirect manner. Reciprocally, he had an interest in them – or at least their apparitions.
Was he part of a group of priests – and others – that were involved with these apparitions? Trying to create, or recreate them? Or was it instead a type of “second line of defence”, or attack, in which other people – perhaps like Maria Tourdes – were used to “enquire” with the Virgin as to Her plans too?
So what are we to make of Eugène Vintras, the man in whose footsteps Boullan stepped, and who claimed he was the reincarnation of the prophet Elias? Apart from that, he also claimed he was sent to earth to prepare “the Third Reign, the Era of the Paraclete, the arrival of the Glorious Christ”. But any focus on “Our Lord” would take us beyond the scope of the Marian Era.

Filip Coppens
We would like to thank Jonothon Boulter and Guy Patton
for some of the information credited above to Guy Patton.